IX Series: Keyence Revolutionizes Compliance Control by Combining Height Measurement with Image Analysis

By combining image analysis and laser dimensional measurement in a single sensor, Keyence’s Series IX helps control specialists take another major step in improving the efficiency of their processes. Perfectly adapted to compliance checks, its detection modes by height measurements meet the need to identify many types of defects on assembly parts.

The range of new Keyence Series IX sensors is a small revolution. It makes it possible to free itself from the positioning of the part to be controlled and its inclination at the moment of the measurement … to free oneself from a too weak contrast between the support of the part (bottom of image) and the part to control it -Even … or no longer have to make complex adjustments when setting up the sensor … but also to be able to entrust the measurements to any staff, with a minimum of training … and of course to ensure the stability and repeatability of measures over time.

Series IX has 4 models, identifiable by their respective reference distances: 50, 80, 150, 360 mm. As far as the dimensions of the products to be tested are concerned, the range makes it possible to treat parts whose thickness is between 45 mm and 440 mm, and for surfaces ranging from 27.5 x 20.5 mm up to 102 mm, 0 × 76.5 mm. The elements to be checked are for example mechanical parts, components or electronic cards, textile materials, dark surface, clear, colored, smooth, rough …

Variety of measurements and applications
The measurement options offered by the IX series are varied. For example: brightness, colors and other factors related to the state of a surface, surface calculation, but above all: detection and identification of Min / Max, alignments, position of one element relative to another on the part, etc.
In fact, the functions built into the sensor will find their applications in all industries. Because they allow a wide variety of controls: nut or screw tightening, presence / absence and positioning of an element (clip, washer, seal, electronic component, plug …), fitting quality of an assembly or a collage, quality and conformity of a labeling or a seal, positioning of a piece with respect to another, dimension, thickness, etc.

Simplicity of implementation
Regardless of the control to be performed, the features of the IX Series sensor are always extremely simple to set up and use. For example, to “program” a height measurement point on a part, simply place it under the sensor, without worrying about its orientation or its inclination (while these parameters play on the distance between the sensor and the point to be controlled on the part), then point to the image (on the computer screen) the point that we want to control. Then, regardless of the orientation of the parts to be controlled as they pass under the sensor, and regardless of the angle of inclination of the sensor axis relative to the central surface of the part, the measurements are will repeat with the same quality and accuracy.

Precision, repeatability and speed
To give an order of magnitude of the accuracy and repeatability of the measurements, note that the sensors of the Series IX, allow to recognize the same point on a part with a repeatability on its positioning between 10 and 150 μm (depending on the model in the range). For differences in heights between points, the measurement step can go down to 100 μm. The measurement cycle time for a typical part can go down to 120 ms (in scan mode – the laser then sweeps the surface of the part) and up to 6 or 11 ms (in linear mode – the laser travels the part on a line).

Integration
In terms of space requirements, one of the strengths of the Series IX sensor is knowing how to integrate a high-performance machine vision sensor and laser detector into a single, small head (30 x 40 x 69.2 mm). This is connected to a remote amplification box mounted on a DIN rail (95 x 43.2 x 66.1 mm).

Certainly industrial
Offering a degree of protection IP67 (resistant to temporary immersion), its housing allows it to be installed in dusty and humid industrial environments (35-85% RH non-condensing). The sensor housing is made of cast zinc alloy and its optical window made of hardened acrylic glass. On the mechanical strength side, the vibration tests were conducted at frequencies in the range 10-55 Hz, at double amplitudes of 1.5 mm in 3 directions (x, y, z). For the ideal operating conditions, ambient lighting must use incandescent lamps (<5000 lux). The operating temperature covers the range 0-45 ° C. Since 1974, KEYENCE has grown steadily and is constantly innovating to become a global leader in industrial automation and quality assurance solutions. Keyence global sales in 2018 are more than 4.6 billion EUR with a global workforce of 7941 people. KEYENCE is one of Forbes Top 100 Most Innovative Companies for the 8th consecutive year since the 2011 ranking was created